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Typing of Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome mec Encoding Methicillin Resistance in Staphylococcus aureus Strains Isolated at the Bone Marrow Transplant Centre of Tunisia

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Abstract

Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome mec (SCCmec) is a mobile genetic element that carries the gene mecA mediating the methicillin resistance in staphylococci. It is composed of mec and ccr gene complexes. Six SCCmec types have been defined so far. SCCmec typing of 13 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) out of 72 (18%) non redundant S. aureus strains recovered in 1998–2007 at the Bone Marrow Transplant Centre of Tunis was carried out. The isolates were identified by conventional methods. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined by oxacillin and cefoxitin disks and oxacillin MIC by E-test. Methicillin resistance was detected by mecA PCR. The SCCmec complex types were determined by PCR. The epidemiology of MRSA has been investigated by PFGE. Among 13 mecA positive strains, 12 were resistant to oxacillin (MIC = 3 to >256 μg/μl) and to cefoxitin and one strain was pre-resistant: susceptible to oxacillin (MIC = 0.19 μg/μl) and to cefoxitin. Hospital-acquired MRSA (HA-MRSA) strains had essentially SCCmec type IV (nine strains) or III (two strains) or I (one strain). One strain shown to carry ccrAB1 and ccrAB2 genes in combination with class B mec. Seven of 13 MRSA strains isolated from 2000 to 2006 were classified with major similarity group A harbored SCCmec type IV.

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Acknowledgments

We are very grateful to Pr. Alasdair Geddes for his helpful comments of the manuscript. We also thank Ito T. for the kind gift of the SCCmec control strains NCTC10442, N315, 85/2082, 4744 and WIS used in this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre National de Greffe de Moelle Osseuse, laboratory service, Tunis, Tunisia

    O. Bouchami, W. Achour & Assia Ben Hassen

  2. National Bone-Marrow Transplant Center, Street Djebel Lakhdhar, Bab Saadoun, 1006, Tunis, Tunisia

    O. Bouchami

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  1. O. Bouchami
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  2. W. Achour
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  3. Assia Ben Hassen
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Correspondence to O. Bouchami.

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Bouchami, O., Achour, W. & Ben Hassen, A. Typing of Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome mec Encoding Methicillin Resistance in Staphylococcus aureus Strains Isolated at the Bone Marrow Transplant Centre of Tunisia. Curr Microbiol 59, 380–385 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-009-9448-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-009-9448-1

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